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    Inside Miniature Dioramas, Flying Saucers Drift Across Extraterrestrial Landscapes

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    All images © A House of Wonders, shared with permission

    Inside Miniature Dioramas, Flying Saucers Drift Across Extraterrestrial Landscapes

    December 6, 2024

    ArtCraft

    Jackie Andres

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    Within the confines of a small, ovoid frames, Caroline Dewison, of A House of Wonders, crafts miniature scenes laden with remarkable detail. Building upon previous mystical vistas inspired by the woodlands surrounding her studio in Warrington, England, the artist’s most recent ventures forge a deeper path toward the otherworldly.

    Hovering above minuscule streams and valleys, UFOs contrast sharply against Dewison’s hand-painted nature scenes. The artist has been fascinated by the possibility of beings on other planets since childhood and continues to explore this speculation.

    “In my lifetime, it’s gone from there being just us to scientists finding hundreds and thousands of exoplanets, many with the possibility of life,” she explains. “I would like to think that we’re not alone.” Within each diorama, the flying saucers are cleverly affixed to jut outward from two-dimensional backgrounds, furthering a sense of depth.

    Along with revisiting her lifelong interest in the extraterrestrial, the artist has also rekindled her relationship with automata. She relishes problem-solving and the logistical aspects of constructing kinetic pieces, sharing, “I love working out how to create a moving piece of art and really enjoy engineering the mechanism to add life to my work.” As a result, the tiny UFOs make a dynamic appearance as well, rotating and drifting above foreign crop circles and thickets of pine.

    While Dewison still mainly works with laser-cut plywood, Jesmonite, acrylic paint, clay, and a 3D-printing pen, she is also working on constructing new designs for frames.

    A busy year is ahead of the artist. Dewison’s work is currently on view as part of Small Works | Big Impact at Momentum Gallery in Asheville, and later this month, her dioramas will be featured in the Oddities and Curiosities Expo in Melbourne with Beinart Gallery. Find Dewison’s miniatures for sale in her shop, A House of Wonders, and keep an eye on Instagram for new work, upcoming shows, and more.

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    • 125 Shares169 Views

      in Art

      Magic and Whimsy Abound from Shannon Taylor’s Fantastic Watercolor Dioramas

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      All images courtesy of Hashimoto Contemporary, shared with permission

      Magic and Whimsy Abound from Shannon Taylor’s Fantastic Watercolor Dioramas

      October 29, 2024

      Art

      Grace Ebert

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      Tucked inside vintage compacts are magical worlds of whimsy and mischief carefully concocted by Shannon Taylor. The Oakland-based artist (previously) transforms antique vessels into lush breeding grounds for fantastic creatures, spirited gatherings, and the occasional vampiric character.

      Taylor’s solo exhibition Night Market opens at Hashimoto Contemporary next month with a stunning collection of works that peek into the strange happenings occurring after darkness.

      Meticulously cut with a precision knife from watercolor paintings, each miniature scene lures the viewer into an enchanting environment that appears much more robust than its inches-wide frame. Taylor’s recent works conjure intricately layered narratives of supernatural rituals and a moon passionate about her own likeness, which, at the right angle, is reflected in the mirrored pond below.

      Night Market runs from November 9 to 30 in Los Angeles. Until then, find more from Taylor on Instagram.

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    • 150 Shares169 Views

      in Art

      Hiné Mizushima Felts Whimsical Sea Creatures Adorned with Beads and Crocheted Detail

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      Detail of “Ancient Diorama Ammonite.” All images © Hiné Mizushima, shared with permission

      Hiné Mizushima Felts Whimsical Sea Creatures Adorned with Beads and Crocheted Detail

      September 13, 2024

      Art Craft Nature

      Grace Ebert

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      Nested in one of Hiné Mizushima’s wooden dioramas is an ancient marine menagerie. Vibrant blue felt lines the walls of the plush environment, which houses a pair of ammonites along with tall seagrass and small bits of coral reef.

      From her Vancouver studio, Mizushima stitches whimsical renditions of underwater creatures. Her soft, fiber sculptures take a playful approach to natural life, sometimes perching an octopus atop a human heart or finding a moray eel slithering out of an artery. Often depicted in pastel colors and adorned with beads and crocheted details, the creatures are friendly and even glitzy interpretations of their real-life counterparts.

      The works shown here will be on view in Mizushima’s solo show Creatures and Curiosities on view from September 14 to October 22 at Boris Zakkaten in Tokyo. Find more on Instagram.

      “Ancient Diorama Ammonite”

      “Heart Moray Eel”

      Detail of “Heart Moray Eel”

      “Ancient Diorama Squids”

      Detail of “Ancient Diorama Squids”

      “Heart Ocotpus”

      “Heart Squid”

      Detail of “Heart Squid”

      “Bugs 1”

      “Bugs 2”

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    • 163 Shares179 Views

      in Art

      Delightful Nighttime Landscapes Nestle into Stacked Wooden Boxes in Allison May Kiphuth’s Dioramas

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      Art

      #animals
      #dioramas
      #found objects
      #miniature
      #mixed media
      #nature
      #sculpture
      #watercolor

      February 3, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Allison May Kiphuth, shared with permission
      Allison May Kiphuth (previously) shrinks the expansive landscapes found throughout the eastern United States into picturesque dioramas brimming with natural life. Through layered watercolor and ink renderings, the Maine-based artist creates a mix of quiet forest scenes and ocean habitats often under a dark, nighttime sky. She then stacks the outfitted wooden boxes, blending the marine and land-based pieces in varying positions that create new ecosystems with every combination.
      Although Kiphuth derives much of her subject matter from the area around her home, she shares that experiencing new scenes is essential to her practice. “I haven’t been outside of Maine in over a year, and while this landscape is usually so expansively beautiful to me, without the contrast of other landscapes for perspective, it’s been feeling incredibly small,” a feeling that’s amplified by her living and working from a tiny home that’s just 8 x 20 feet.
      The artist has a solo show slated for August at Antler Gallery in Portland, and limited edition prints of the piece above are available from Nahcotta. Get a glimpse into Kiphuth’s process and views of the scenery she references in her works on Instagram.

      “Bond,” watercolor, paper, and pins in antique box, 4 x 6 x 2 inches
      “Defense,” watercolor, paper, and pins in antique box, 4.625 x 7 x 3.75 inches
      Left: “Den” (2019), watercolor on layers of hand-cut paper, sealed with encaustic, 6 x 6.5 x .5 inches
      “Nightlight 2,” Watercolor, paper, thread, and pins in antique box, 6.25 x 4.875 x 3.25 inches
      “Observation” (2019), watercolor on layers of hand-cut paper, sealed with encaustic, 6 x 6 x .5 inches
      “Defense” in progress

      #animals
      #dioramas
      #found objects
      #miniature
      #mixed media
      #nature
      #sculpture
      #watercolor

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